Krzysztof
Komeda

Pianist and composer, author of film music and the album Astigmatic, one of the founders of modern Polish jazz.

Krzysztof Komeda, born Krzysztof Trzciński (1931 to 1969), was a jazz pianist and composer, regarded as one of the most important creators of early modern jazz in Poland. A physician by training, he abandoned medicine for music, and his sextet, which performed at the 1st Jazz Festival in Sopot in 1956, is considered one of the first Polish modern jazz ensembles.

Worldwide fame came through his collaboration with Roman Polański, for whom he wrote the music to films such as Nóż w wodzie and Rosemary's Baby. Over the course of his career he composed music for several dozen films. His most important jazz achievement remains the album Astigmatic, listed among the most outstanding albums of European jazz.

In December 1968 in Los Angeles, Komeda suffered a serious head injury, as a result of which he died in April 1969. Despite his short life, he had a lasting influence on Polish and European jazz, inspiring successive generations of musicians.